City Weekly Best of Utah 2019

Best of Utah 2019: Arts & Culture

22 reader-voted winners in arts & culture, from the City Weekly Best of Utah 2019 poll.

Ask Ave: What won Best of Utah 2019 for Arts & Culture

• Best Tattoo ArtistLuke Jensen

  Luke Jensen is a newbie in the tattoo bizz but his talent would make you think differently. He currently practices his artistry at Aloha Salt Lake Tattoos, which he co-owns, and hopes to… — Runners-up: Mason Atlas, Sarah de Azevedo

• Best Artistic MemorialDaveyFest

  The nonprofit foundation created in honor of local actor/artist/filmmaker David Ross Fetzer after his death in 2012 has supported a wide range of creative endeavors, from new plays to short…

• Best Dance ClubSky

  Pierpont Avenue's Sky nightclub is a vast three-floor, 15,000 square foot expanse unlike any other club in Utah. The state-of-the-art sound system allows clubbers to feel the music in their… — Runners-up: Area 51, The Sun Trapp

• Best Dance CompanyBallet West

  For more than 55 years, Ballet West has brought some of the world's most beautiful dancing to downtown Salt Lake City—but it's much more than century-old classics. Although every season… — Runners-up: Odyssey Dance Theatre, Repertory Dance Theatre

• Best Friend of the ArtsUrban Arts Gallery

  What does it mean to be a "friend of the arts?" In part, maybe it means putting together opportunities for as many people in the community to participate in the arts. That includes the… — Runners-up: The Eccles Family, Craft Lake City

• Best GalleryUrban Arts Gallery

  Every gallery has its own distinctive sensibility and place in the community, but our readers love the inclusive vibe of Urban Arts Gallery. Its exhibitions incorporate popular culture… — Runners-up: Phillips Art Gallery, Modern West

• Best Hike to See Ancient ArtNine Mile Canyon

  Known colloquially as the "World's Longest Art Gallery," the inexplicably named Nine Mile Canyon has 40 miles of Native American petroglyphs from the Fremont and the Ute peoples…

• Best Hometown Hero With Her Own Netflix MovieAmberley Snyder

  After a car crash left her paralyzed from the waist down, Amberley Snyder was determined to ride again. The rodeo star from Logan told her inspiring life story, and earlier this year, saw…

• Best Local Artist IncubatorSLFS MAST Program

  Too often, Utah artists in certain media—animation, filmmaking, game design and more—have felt that the only way for them to make it big was to leave Utah. The Salt Lake Film Society's new…

• Best MuseumNatural History Museum of Utah

  When you visit the gleaming copper building of the Natural History Museum of Utah's Rio Tinto Center, there's no way to avoid realizing it's absolutely the Natural History Museum of Utah… — Runners-up: The Leonardo, Utah Museum of Fine Art

• Best Place to Get Your Art on Without Emptying Your WalletClever Octopus Creative Reuse Center

  Walking through the doors of the Reuse Center, artists are transported to a magical world where they can find just about anything. A thrift store for arts and crafts supplies, the shop is…

• Best Place With a HeartThe Inn Between

  The not-in-my-backyard folk came out in force this past year dreading the move of a homeless hospice to Salt Lake City's east side. There was the typical fear-mongering of more crime and…

• Best PodcastI Am Salt Lake

  This popular podcast (it was last year's Best of Utah winner) just racked up its 400th episode. Hosts Chris and Krissie Holyfield—both originally out-of-staters, incidentally—scour the city… — Runners-up: Geek Show Podcast, Cold

• Best Podcast HomiesThe New Utah Podcast

  "Buckle up while we tell you about the Utah your mama warned you about," The New Utah Podcast's mission goes. Uncovering the people, places and things that make our state uniquely cool, the…

• Best Radio ShowRadio From Hell

  "The darkest places in hell." wrote Dante Alighieri, "are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality ..." In that case, Radio From Hell doesn't qualify for the nether regions. Hosts… — Runners-up: Frankie and Jess, 97.1 FM, Radioactive

• Best Radio StationX96

  Another evergreen inductee. With an eardrum thumping 21,600 watts of raw power, X96 (96.3 FM) is the go-to place on your dial to hear the ultimate in contemporary rock. Rolling Stone, in… — Runners-up: KZHT 97.1 FM, KUER 90.1 FM

• Best Small-Town Film FestivalLogan Block Festival

  For the last eight years the Logan Block Festival (formerly the Logan Film Festival) has brought local and national performers, directors and artists to Cache Valley for a two-day…

• Best Support for a First-Generation ArtistPilar Pobil Legacy Foundation Scholarship

  Everyone understands the daunting prospect of emerging from a university education with mountains of student debt; now compound that anxiety with the financial uncertainty of pursuing a…

• Best Theater CompanySalt Lake Acting Co.

  On the doorstep of its 50th season in 2020, Salt Lake Acting Co. continues to be a showcase for risk-taking contemporary theater, whether it originates on New York stages or with… — Runners-up: Pioneer Theatre Co., Desert Star

• Best TV AnchorMary Nickles

  In 2012, KUTV Channel 2's Mary Nickles had a routine mammography as part of a story on women's health. Doctors found a malignant tumor. Her subsequent reporting—on the surgery, chemo… — Runners-up: Shauna Lake, Bob Evans

• Best TV News ReporterBen Winslow

  A master of multimedia, Fox 13's Ben Winslow has solid credentials as a purveyor of good, old fashioned, shoe-leather journalism. But he's almost simultaneously peppering the info-sphere… — Runners-up: Big Budah, Andrew Reeser

• Best Venue to Feel Like You're in an '80s MovieLiquid Joe's

  The '80s ruled for many reasons, and one can credit Liquid Joe's with keeping it very much alive. The distinctive, pool-colored building features rounded architecture and glowing neon, with…